4 Days Late...No Baby Yet!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we are still waiting. We are doing good, but it has been hard to be patient! It seems like each day it gets a little tougher on Rach. She's been having a rough time, and said she's tempted to wear all black until she has the baby. COME ON AISHA, WE WANT TO MEET YOU!!

Still Waiting...

Yeah. Still waiting. Due date was Saturday, but no baby yet! I don't like this waiting thing very much.

Waiting

Trying to be patient

Well, Rachel's sister Melissa has arrived. It has been great to have her around - she has been a huge help in getting everything ready for baby. Right now Rachel and I are just trying to survive this really strange black hole twilight zone waiting period knowing that the baby could come at any moment, but afraid she is not going to come any time soon. The baby is officially due in three days - and since this is our first, we are trying to cope with the thought that it could be another week or so.

We had a check up on Monday, and without going into any gory details, I can say that Rachel's body is preparing itself. The baby is very much engaged and is presenting well, and things are thinning out nicely. The midwives treated Rachel with Primrose oil to help things along.

So then, in summary: Life is good, but life is weird right now. It is hard to focus on much of anything other than the birth. Thank you for praying for us and for Aisha - as you continue, please include patience in those prayers!

La niña que a todos les va a facinar

Rach and I with the Midwives last Saturday

Sitting here on a cold Friday. We don't get very many cold Fridays here. Not very many cold any days actually. Life has been far from normal lately. Rach has been having regular contractions that seem to be growing more painful as the days go by. The other night we were all but convinced that the time had come. It hadn't, and the rush of adrenaline produced by the anxiety of the moment didn't serve any purpose beyond keeping me from sleeping that night. When I get anxious about something, I tend to sleepwalk. Last night, so says Rachel, I was up at two in the morning looking for our cat Romeo in the bedroom. When I couldn't find him there, I proceeded to the living room. She gently guided me back to bed. I have no memory of that whatsoever.

The official due date is next Saturday, February 24th. Rachel's sister, Melissa is coming down in a couple of days, hoping to be here for the birth. We feel like we are basically ready - Rachel's strong nesting instinct has helped us get the house nice and clean. No doubt every corner and crevice will be sanitized by the time she's done with it. Aisha's room still needs some work, but I'll be able to tackle that early next week as long as she's not here yet.

It is warming up this afternoon - supposed to be beautiful. That will be nice, since around 270 students are making their way down here as I write for a two day trip into Mexico with our church. Yes, I will be hosting teams in Mexico this weekend. I'm going to follow behind one of our busses in my Jeep; cell phone set to extra loud + vibrate. Rach and I dearly love being in Mexico. Over the years we've been able to build so many strong relationships with churches and pastors there. This Summer Rach and I met an elderly couple in Rio Bravo who needed some serious help. The Señora had just had her leg amputated due to diabetes. She was bed-ridden, and they were both confused about all of the medications the doctor had given them. The man lifted up a bottle of asprin and told me, "Se me hace que esta es para la infección." He thought the asprin was her antibiotic, her antibiotic was her diabetes medication, and wasn't sure what to think about everything else. Because God is so good, we happened to be traveling with several nurses who set everything straight for them. They confirmed the fact that she hadn't been taking her antibiotic when they removed the dressings from her seriously infected stump. After cleaning her wound and redressing it, we prayed for them and soberly left. A few weeks ago I revisited their home, only to find out that the precious lady had succumbed to the infection and died. I was so glad I made it back there.

Aisha will have many friends on both sides of the border ready to welcome her into the world. To help her make friends wherever she goes, Rachel and I have been planning for some time that I will speak to Aisha only in Spanish, and Rachel will use English. One Mexican pastor friend of mine told me that they are more excited than I am about our bundle of joy that is on the way. They've already picked out a piñata for her first fiesta.

Long Walks, Good Visits, and Baby Goats

So, here we are. Full Term! This Saturday Rachel will be entering her 39th week. Crazy, right?! It is interesting this sort of process that my mind has gone through in getting ready for the baby. About nine months ago I was excited, but couldn't really grasp the fact that this was a reality. Rachel looked the same, and I couldn't feel any kicks or nudges on her belly, so it was simply an interesting idea that there was something tiny living inside of her.

Then came the day we heard the heartbeat. Especially when they are still tiny, babies hearts beat very fast. I think my rhythm caught up with the baby's - I was so exited to hear that sound! Several weeks later, we found out that we were having a girl. One word: FEAR! I mean, I felt like I would at least have some idea of how to raise a boy; but a girl?!?! That was a very scary prospect for me.

Since then, I have slowly traveled to the point at which I currently find myself: Unbelievably excited!!! We are so eager to see her and to touch her and to count her fingers and toes and let her hand grasp our fingers. So then, we are doing everything we can to speed up this whole waiting process. We've heard that a good walk can get things going, so we've been walking...a lot! Last night we logged 2 miles. Quite a feat for a waddling and fully pregnant woman. I think Rachel is even more desperate than I am to see her.

In other news, my brother was down last weekend to visit Rachel and I. We had a very good time together. I also shared with Nathan my current culinary fascination: Cabrito. Although I'd had it before, this trademark Northern Mexican dish has been my favorite lately. It is basically baby goat, and can be cooked a lot of different ways. My favorite by far is al pastor, when the goat is roasted over hot coals. For effect I've included a picture I took last week of Cabrito Guisado - which is stewed baby goat. How many more baby goats will perish to satisfy my animalistic, carnivorous cravings? Probably many more.

So then, there are no signs yet of the baby's imminent arrival. It seems like the she is still sitting high in Rachel's tummy, although she has been in a head down position for several weeks now. We are hoping she'll drop soon, at least showing us some sign of progress. Rachel has also been having regular B.H. contractions - the painless kind that are basically her uterine muscles warming up for d-day. They have gotten more regular and slightly more intense in the past few days. This Saturday we'll be at the birthing center for yet another check up and birthing class. It has been fun to meet other couples and exciting to come back each week and find out that some of them have had their babies. Yahoo!! I'll keep you posted, and yes, I will post a current picture of Rach and I very soon.